Daily TribuneThe outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden is working to get as much aid as possible to Kyiv
PHOTO: France's President Emmanuel Macron, flanked by President-elect Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky leave after a meeting at The Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris, on Dec. 7, 2024.
Julien De Rosa/AFP via Getty Images
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The United States (US) on Saturday announced a new $988 million security assistance package for Ukraine as Washington races to provide aid to Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
Trump’s November election victory has cast doubt on the future of American aid for Ukraine, providing a limited window for billions of dollars in already authorized assistance to be disbursed before he is sworn in next month.
The package features drones, ammunition for precision HIMARS rocket launchers, and equipment and spare parts for artillery systems, tanks and armored vehicles, the Pentagon said in a statement.
Trump met in Paris earlier Saturday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who said any resolution of the war with Russia should be a “just” settlement that includes “strong security guarantees for Ukraine.”
The meeting was of huge importance to Zelensky, given fears in Kyiv that Trump may urge Ukraine to make concessions to Moscow.
The latest aid will be funded via the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, under which military equipment is procured from the defense industry or partners rather than drawn from American stocks, meaning it will not immediately arrive on the battlefield.
It follows a $725 million package announced on Monday that included a second tranche of landmines as well as anti-air and anti-armor weapons.
The outgoing administration of President Joe Biden is working to get as much aid as possible to Ukraine before Trump — who has repeatedly criticized US assistance for Kyiv and claimed he could secure a ceasefire within hours — takes over.
Trump’s comments have triggered fears in Kyiv and Europe about the future of US aid, and Ukraine’s ability to withstand Russian attacks in the absence of further American support.
“Our job has been to try and put Ukraine in the strongest possible position on the battlefield so that it is in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table,” National Security advisor Jake Sullivan said Saturday.
In the closing weeks of Biden’s term, the goal is “a massive surge of assistance and to up the economic pressure on Russia,” he said.
